1.
Du Fu
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Du Fu was a prominent Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty. Along with Li Bai, he is called the greatest of the Chinese poets. His greatest ambition was to serve his country as a civil servant. His life, like the country, was devastated by the An Lushan Rebellion of 755. Although initially he was little-known to other writers, his works came to be influential in both Chinese and Japanese literary culture. Of his poetic writing, nearly fifteen hundred poems have been preserved over the ages, since many of Du Fus poems feature morality and history, this practice is particularly important. Most of what is known of Du Fus life comes from his poems and his paternal grandfather was Du Shenyan, a noted politician and poet during the reign of Empress Wu. Du Fu was born in 712, the birthplace is unknown, except that it was near Luoyang. In later life, he considered himself to belong to the city of Changan. Du Fus mother died shortly after he was born, and he was raised by his aunt. He had a brother, who died young. He also had three brothers and one half sister, to whom he frequently refers in his poems. The son of a minor scholar-official, his youth was spent on the education of a future civil servant, study and memorisation of the Confucian classics of philosophy. He later claimed to have produced creditable poems by his early teens, in the early 730s, he travelled in the Jiangsu/Zhejiang area, his earliest surviving poem, describing a poetry contest, is thought to date from the end of this period, around 735. In that year, he took the civil service exam, likely in Changan and he failed, to his surprise and that of centuries of later critics. Hung concludes that he failed because his prose style at the time was too dense and obscure. After this failure, he went back to traveling, this time around Shandong, Du Fu would have been allowed to enter the civil service because of his fathers rank, but he is thought to have given up the privilege in favour of one of his half brothers. He spent the four years living in the Luoyang area

2.
National Palace Museum
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The National Palace Museum is located in Taipei and Taibao, Taiwan. It has a permanent collection of nearly 700,000 pieces of ancient Chinese imperial artifacts and artworks, the collection encompasses 8,000 years of history of Chinese art from the Neolithic age to the modern. Most of the collection are high quality pieces collected by Chinas emperors, the National Palace Museum and the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City in Beijing, mainland China, share the same roots. In English, the institution in Taipei is distinguished from the one in Beijing by the additional National designation, in common usage in Chinese, the institution in Taipei is known as the Taipei Former Palace, while that in Beijing is known as the Beijing Former Palace. The articles in the consisted of the valuables of the former Imperial family. In 1936, the collection was moved to Nanking after the construction of the storage in the Taoist monastery Chaotian Palace was complete, in 1947, it was shipped back to the Nanjing warehouse. Hang Li-wu, later director of the museum, supervised the transport of some of the collection in three groups from Nanking to the harbor in Keelung, Taiwan between December 1948 and February 1949. By the time the items arrived in Taiwan, the Communist army had seized control of the National Beiping Palace Museum collection so not all of the collection could be sent to Taiwan. For security reasons, the Joint Managerial Office chose the village of Beigou. In the following year, the collection stored in cane sugar mill was transported to the new site in Beigou, with the National Central Librarys reinstatement in 1955, the collection from the National Beiping Library was simultaneously incorporated into the National Central Library. The Joint Managerial Office of the National Beiping Palace Museum and the Preparatory Office of the National Central Museum stayed in Beigou for another ten years, during the decade, the Office obtained a grant from the Asia Foundation to construct a small-scale exhibition hall in the spring of 1956. The exhibition hall, opened in March 1957, was divided into four galleries in which it was possible to more than 200 items. In the autumn of 1960, the Office received a grant of NT$32 million from AID, the Republic of China government also contributed more than NT$30 million to establish a special fund for the construction of a museum in the Taipei suburb of Waishuanxi. The construction of the museum in Waishuanxi was completed in August 1965, the new museum site was christened the Chung-Shan Museum in honor of the founding father of the ROC, Sun Yat-sen, and first opened to the public on the centenary of Sun Yat-sens birthday. Since then, the museum in Taipei has managed, conserved and exhibited the collections of the National Beiping Palace Museum and the Preparatory Office of the National Central Museum. However, relations regarding this treasure have warmed in recent years, the Palace Museum curator Zheng Xinmiao has said that the artifacts in both mainland and Taiwan museums are Chinas cultural heritage jointly owned by people across the Taiwan Strait. Among the artifacts were a white marble tablet from the Tang Dynasty, gold nails and it was not until after Ma died that his wife went to Taiwan in 1971 from America to bring the artifacts to Chiang Kai-shek, who turned them over to the National Palace Museum. The National Palace Museums main building in Taipei was designed by Huang Baoyu, due to the insufficient space to put on display over 600,000 artifacts, the museum underwent expansions in 1967,1970,1984 and 1996

3.
Landscape painting
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In other works, landscape backgrounds for figures can still form an important part of the work. Sky is almost always included in the view, and weather is often an element of the composition, detailed landscapes as a distinct subject are not found in all artistic traditions, and develop when there is already a sophisticated tradition of representing other subjects. The two main traditions spring from Western painting and Chinese art, going well over a thousand years in both cases. Landscape views in art may be imaginary, or copied from reality with varying degrees of accuracy. If the primary purpose of a picture is to depict an actual, specific place, especially including buildings prominently, within a few decades it was used to describe vistas in poetry, and eventually as a term for real views. However the cognate term landscaef or landskipe for a patch of land had existed in Old English. The earliest pure landscapes with no figures are frescos from Minoan Greece of around 1500 BCE. The frescos from the Tomb of Nebamun, now in the British Museum, are a famous example. These were frequently used, as in the illustrated, to bridge the gap between a foreground scene with figures and a distant panoramic vista, a persistent problem for landscape artists. The Chinese style generally showed only a distant view, or used dead ground or mist to avoid that difficulty, aesthetic theories in both regions gave the highest status to the works seen to require the most imagination from the artist. They were often also poets whose lines and images illustrated each other, a revival in interest in nature initially mainly manifested itself in depictions of small gardens such as the Hortus Conclusus or those in millefleur tapestries. The frescos of figures at work or play in front of a background of trees in the Palace of the Popes. Several frescos of gardens have survived from Roman houses like the Villa of Livia, a particular advance is shown in the less well-known Turin-Milan Hours, now largely destroyed by fire, whose developments were reflected in Early Netherlandish painting for the rest of the century. Landscape backgrounds for various types of painting became prominent and skilful during the 15th century. The Italian development of a system of graphical perspective was now known all over Europe. Indeed, certain styles were so popular that they became formulas that could be copied again and again, after the publication of the Small Landscapes, landscape artists in the Low Countries either continued with the world landscape or followed the new mode presented by the Small Landscapes. The popularity of landscape scenes can be seen in the success of the painter Frans Post. Salvator Rosa gave picturesque excitement to his landscapes by showing wilder Southern Italian country, there are different styles and periods, and subgenres of marine and animal painting, as well as a distinct style of Italianate landscape

4.
David Vinckboons
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David Vinckboons was a Dutch Golden Age painter of Flemish origin. Vinckboons was one of the most prolific and popular painters and print designers in the Netherlands, himself influenced by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, he was instrumental — together with Hans Bol and Roelant Savery — in the development of genre painting in the northern Netherlands. The family moved to Antwerp around 1580, and then to Middelburg after the Spanish occupation of Antwerp in 1585 and it is not likely they moved for religious reasons to Amsterdam. His father became a citizen in 1591, but none of his grandchildren were baptized in a Calvinist church, in 1602 David married in Leeuwarden to Agneta van Loon, the daughter of a notary. Then he lived in Sint Antoniesbreestraat like many artists and painters. According to Karel van Mander he did not have any other than his father Phillipe, a painter on canvas with watercolors. David specialized in elegant figures in landscapes as well as Kermis. His landscapes reflect his contact with Gillis van Coninxloo, Vinckboons attracted a number of students, among them were Gillis dHondecoeter, Claes Janszoon Visscher and probably Esaias van de Velde. Vingboons, as his name is spelled, and many other varieties are to be found, had at least ten children. His sons were the cartographer and watercolourist Johannes and the architects Justus, Pieter, an engineer and soldier, died on Ceylon. Liedtke, W. Dutch paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, masters of Seventeenth-Century Dutch Genre Painting, exhib

5.
Dutch Republic
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It preceded the Batavian Republic, the Kingdom of Holland, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, and ultimately the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands. Alternative names include the United Provinces, Seven Provinces, Federated Dutch Provinces, most of the Low Countries had come under the rule of the House of Burgundy and subsequently the House of Habsburg. In 1549 Holy Roman Emperor Charles V issued the Pragmatic Sanction, Charles was succeeded by his son, King Philip II of Spain. This was the start of the Eighty Years War, in 1579 a number of the northern provinces of the Low Countries signed the Union of Utrecht, in which they promised to support each other in their defence against the Spanish army. This was followed in 1581 by the Act of Abjuration, the declaration of independence of the provinces from Philip II. In 1582 the United Provinces invited Francis, Duke of Anjou to lead them, but after an attempt to take Antwerp in 1583. After the assassination of William of Orange, both Henry III of France and Elizabeth I of England declined the offer of sovereignty, however, the latter agreed to turn the United Provinces into a protectorate of England, and sent the Earl of Leicester as governor-general. This was unsuccessful and in 1588 the provinces became a confederacy, the Union of Utrecht is regarded as the foundation of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces, which was not recognized by the Spanish Empire until the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. During the Anglo-French war, the territory was divided into groups, the Patriots, who were pro-French and pro-American and the Orangists. The Republic of the United Provinces faced a series of revolutions in 1783–1787. During this period, republican forces occupied several major Dutch cities, initially on the defence, the Orangist forces received aid from Prussian troops and retook the Netherlands in 1787. After the French Republic became the French Empire under Napoleon, the Batavian Republic was replaced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Holland, the Netherlands regained independence from France in 1813. In the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 the names United Provinces of the Netherlands, on 16 March 1815, the son of stadtholder William V crowned himself King William I of the Netherlands. Between 1815 and 1890 the King of the Netherlands was also in a union the Grand Duke of the sovereign Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. After Belgium gained its independence in 1830, the state became known as the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The County of Holland was the wealthiest and most urbanized region in the world, the free trade spirit of the time received a strong augmentation through the development of a modern, effective stock market in the Low Countries. The Netherlands has the oldest stock exchange in the world, founded in 1602 by the Dutch East India Company, while Rotterdam has the oldest bourse in the Netherlands, the worlds first stock exchange, that of the Dutch East-India Company, went public in six different cities. Later, a court ruled that the company had to reside legally in a city so Amsterdam is recognized as the oldest such institution based on modern trading principles

6.
Scipione Borghese
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Scipione Borghese was an Italian Cardinal, art collector and patron of the arts. A member of the Borghese family, he was the patron of the painter Caravaggio and his legacy is the establishment of the art collection at the Villa Borghese in Rome. Originally named Scipione Caffarelli, he was born in Artena, the son of Francisco Caffarelli and his father ran into financial difficulties, so Scipiones education was paid for by his maternal uncle Camillo Borghese. Upon Camillos election to the papacy as Pope Paul V in 1605, he conferred a cardinalship on Scipione and gave him the right to use the Borghese name. In the classic pattern of papal nepotism, Cardinal Borghese wielded enormous power as the Popes secretary, on his own and the Popes behalf he amassed an enormous fortune through papal fees and taxes, and acquired vast land holdings for the Borghese family. Scipione received many honours from his uncle, in each of these offices the cardinal received stipends. His income in 1609 was about 90,000 scudi, with his enormous wealth, he bought the villages of Montefortino and Olevano Romano from Pier Francesco Colonna, Duke of Zagarolo for 280,000 scudi. As Cardinal Nephew, Borghese was placed in charge of both the internal and external affairs of the Papal States. In addition, Paul V entrusted his nephew with the management of the finances of both the papacy and the Borghese family, Borghese aroused a great deal of controversy and resentment by utilizing numerous gifts from the papal government to fund Borghese family investments. Exploiting his authority as Cardinal Nephew, he often compelled owners to sell their holdings to him at substantial discounts, Borghese thus ensured that the fortunes of the family were not permanently dependent on ecclesiastical office. Cardinal Scipione Borghese died in Rome in 1633 and is buried in the Borghese chapel in Santa Maria Maggiore, contemporaries commented on the near-public scandals that resulted on occasions from Scipiones possible homosexuality, reflected in his taste for collecting art with strong homoerotic overtones. In 1605, Scipione allegedly angered his uncle the pope by bringing Stefano Pignatelli, to whom Scipione was closely attached, Scipione subsequently fell into a long and serious sickness, and only recovered when Pignatelli was allowed to come. The pope decided to keep a check on Pignatelli and had him ordained, indeed, the Italian historian Lorenzo Cardella notes that Pignatelli was cleared twice by the Roman Inquisition of having improper influence on Cardinal Borghese. Borghese took special interest in the development of the extensive gardens undertaken by artists at his Roman residences, the Palazzo Borghese on the Quirinal. Both these influential gardens featured innovative elements such as waterfalls, and they incorporated dense groves of trees, during the Ludovisi papacy the major focus of Borghese’s ecclesiastical patronage was on commemorative projects. The first was the embellishment of the Caffarelli chapel in Santa Maria sopra Minerva, the second was the massive timber catafalque decorated with life-size plaster figures designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, erected in Santa Maria Maggiore. Borghese’s first work after entering the Sacred College where he studied was the building and decoration of the chapels of St. Andrew. For Borghese to complete such a project declared his devotion to the city’s Christian heritage, the restoration of San Sebastiano fuori le mura, a church built under Constantine housing the greatest collection of relics known at the time

7.
Flanders
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Flanders is the Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium, although there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, language, politics and history. It is one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, the demonym associated with Flanders is Fleming, while the corresponding adjective is Flemish. The official capital of Flanders is Brussels, although Brussels itself has an independent regional government, in historical contexts, Flanders originally refers to the County of Flanders, which around AD1000 stretched from the Strait of Dover to the Scheldt estuary. In accordance with late 20th century Belgian state reforms the area was made two political entities, the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region. These entities were merged, although geographically the Flemish Community, which has a cultural mandate, covers Brussels. Flanders has figured prominently in European history, as a consequence, a very sophisticated culture developed, with impressive achievements in the arts and architecture, rivaling those of northern Italy. Belgium was one of the centres of the 19th century industrial revolution, geographically, Flanders is generally flat, and has a small section of coast on the North Sea. Much of Flanders is agriculturally fertile and densely populated, with a density of almost 500 people per square kilometer. It touches France to the west near the coast, and borders the Netherlands to the north and east, the Brussels Capital Region is an enclave within the Flemish Region. Flanders has exclaves of its own, Voeren in the east is between Wallonia and the Netherlands and Baarle-Hertog in the consists of 22 exclaves surrounded by the Netherlands. It comprises 6.5 million Belgians who consider Dutch to be their mother tongue, the political subdivisions of Belgium, the Flemish Region and the Flemish Community. The first does not comprise Brussels, whereas the latter does comprise the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Brussels, the political institutions that govern both subdivisions, the operative body Flemish Government and the legislative organ Flemish Parliament. The two westernmost provinces of the Flemish Region, West Flanders and East Flanders, forming the central portion of the historic County of Flanders, a feudal territory that existed from the 8th century until its absorption by the French First Republic. Until the 1600s, this county also extended over parts of France, one of the regions conquered by the French in Flanders, namely French Flanders in the Nord department. French Flanders can be divided into two regions, Walloon Flanders and Maritime Flanders. The first region was predominantly French-speaking already in the 1600s, the latter became so in the 20th century, the city of Lille identifies itself as Flemish, and this is reflected, for instance, in the name of its local railway station TGV Lille Flandres. The region conquered by the Dutch Republic in Flanders, now part of the Dutch province of Zeeland, the significance of the County of Flanders and its counts eroded through time, but the designation remained in a very broad sense. In the Early modern period, the term Flanders was associated with the part of the Low Countries

8.
Dutch Golden Age
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The Dutch Golden Age was a period in Dutch history, roughly spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science, military, and art were among the most acclaimed in the world. The first half is characterized by the Eighty Years War which ended in 1648, the Golden Age continued in peacetime during the Dutch Republic until the end of the century. The Netherlandss transition from a possession of the Holy Roman Empire in the 1590s to the foremost maritime, in 1568, the Seven Provinces that later signed the Union of Utrecht started a rebellion against Philip II of Spain that led to the Eighty Years War. Antwerp fell on August 17,1585 after a siege, the United Provinces fought on until the Twelve Years Truce, which did not end the hostilities. Under the terms of the surrender of Antwerp in 1585, the Protestant population were given four years to settle their affairs before leaving the city, similar arrangements were made in other places. Protestants were especially well-represented among the craftsmen and rich merchants of the port cities of Bruges, Ghent. More moved to the north between 1585 and 1630 than Catholics moved in the direction, although there were also many of these. Many of those moving north settled in Amsterdam, transforming what was a port into one of the most important ports. The Pilgrim Fathers also spent time there before their voyage to the New World, Ronald Findlay and Kevin H. O’Rourke contribute part of the Dutch ascendancy to its Calvinistic ethic, which promoted thrift and education. This contributed to the lowest interest rates and the highest literacy rates in Europe, several other factors also contributed to the flowering of trade, industry, the arts and the sciences in the Netherlands during this time. A necessary condition was a supply of energy from windmills and from peat. The invention of the sawmill enabled the construction of a massive fleet of ships for worldwide trading. In 1602 the Dutch East India Company was founded and it was the first-ever multinational corporation, financed by shares that established the first modern stock exchange. This company received a Dutch monopoly on Asian trade and would keep this for two centuries and it became the worlds largest commercial enterprise of the 17th century. Spices were imported in bulk and brought huge profits, due to the efforts and risks involved and this is remembered to this day in the Dutch word peperduur, meaning something is very expensive, reflecting the prices of spices at the time. To finance the trade within the region, the Bank of Amsterdam was established in 1609. According to Ronald Findlay and Kevin H. O’Rourke, geography favored the Dutch Republic and they write, The foundations were laid by taking advantage of location, midway between the Bay of Biscay and the Baltic. The Dutch share of European shipping tonnage was enormous, well over half during most of the period of their ascendancy, from here the Dutch traded between China and Japan and paid tribute to the Shogun